


tattoo

by rangerhitomi



Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: M/M, Trans Aichi, Trans Character, University Student Aichi, getting tattoos, matching tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 02:53:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20332858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangerhitomi/pseuds/rangerhitomi
Summary: Aichi finds out that Kai has a tattoo and decides he wants one to match.





	tattoo

**Author's Note:**

> I got a kagero tattoo for my thirtieth birthday (https://twitter.com/rangerhitomi/status/1160325652328910850) and naturally had to write a fic about it

Aichi shifts around, searching out a comfortable position. His fingers rub together; maybe it's an unconscious movement, as he's staring intently at the wall directly in front of him. 

Kai watches him. "You okay?"

A nervous laugh. "Y-yeah, of course!" 

Every day for the past week, Kai has encouraged Aichi to drink more water, to eat full meals, to get rest. It was all to prepare for this moment. Three months ago, Kai had worn a lower-cut shirt than normal under a scarf. He'd taken off the scarf for a minute to rearrange it and Aichi had noticed the tiny corner of a red mark on Kai's chest, tucked just under his collarbone. A simple, pure red tattoo about ten centimeters in size, of the Kagero clan emblem. 

The sensation of Aichi's finger tracing it had etched deeper into Kai's mind than the mild pain of getting it done in the first place.

The thought of getting a matching tattoo, of imprinting the importance of his own clan on his body, intrigued Aichi; sometimes, when riding the bus or train together, Aichi would doodle the simple Royal Paladin clan symbol side-by-side with the more complex Gold Paladin symbol. 

_Which do you like better? _

_They're both good._

Never satisfied with Kai's uncertain answer, Aichi designed a symbol that combined both; the outer shield of Royal Paladin framing the Gold Paladin. They'd found a tattoo artist a short bus ride from Aichi's university; Aichi, still shy, had presented his design. 

(When asked why that particular design and why Aichi wanted it in the first place, Aichi had turned crimson and looked fondly at Kai. _Kai-kun has one_, he'd said, _and his Kagero means to him what the Paladins mean to me._

Kai tries not to read into it too much, but his lovestruck mind had translated it to _Kai has one and he means a lot to me so I wanted a matching one._

Still, it's hard not to read deeper meaning into what Aichi probably considered a matching tattoo with a close friend.)

The tattoo artist returns, pulling on his gloves and settling close to Aichi."Okay, go ahead and take off your shirt."

Aichi shoots a nervous look in Kai's direction.

"It's okay," Kai assures him, though he thinks he might understand why Aichi is apprehensive.

Ears turning red, Aichi half-turns away from Kai and pulls his shirt over his head. Out of respect for Aichi's clear embarrassment, Kai refuses to let his gaze linger too long on the slender curve of Aichi's hips or the strapless chest binder hugging his body. He offers Aichi what he hopes is a comforting smile. Aichi leans back in the chair and pulls his crumpled shirt close to his body, returning the smile. 

The artist looks between them and lifts an eyebrow before pulling his tray toward him. 

Kai notices. Aichi, busy clutching his shirt, doesn't. 

During Aichi's consultation, Aichi had shyly suggested his Paladin design to the artist. Yellow ink, he was told, would have a hard time showing on his skin on its own, so they'd agreed on a darker blue. After cleaning the area thoroughly, the artist transfers the design to Aichi's skin and prepares the rotary tool and the needles.

"Make sure to hold still, even if it hurts," he says, scooting closer. "Ready?"

Aichi swallows. "Mm-hm,"

The moment the tool touches Aichi's skin, he flinches. Kai knows from experience that the initial contact feels more like a cat scratch than anything; if it already hurts Aichi enough to cause him to flinch, how is it going to feel when the needles puncture him more and more?

_"Hey."_

Aichi lifts his eyes to meet Kai's. Kai smiles at him. They speak English to each other most of the time, here in America, because Aichi is determined to become completely fluent and Kai wants to be able to get around without relying on Aichi to translate for him all the time. But right now, Kai wants to reassure Aichi and for that he decides that speaking their native tongue will be the most comfortable thing for the both of them. 

_"Does it hurt?"_

Aichi breathes in through his nose a few times before giving a hesitant "_a little bit." _His face turns red as he glances down where the tattoo artist is wiping Aichi's chest. 

The tattooist notices Aichi's embarrassment. "I'm going to have to put my hand here on your chest a little because of the location. Sorry about this."

"It's okay." Aichi swallows before pulling one hand away from his binder and toward Kai. _"Kai-kun, will you... will you hold my hand for a bit?"_

Kai scoots closer in his chair after a questioning look at the artist for permission and reaches out with a sweaty hand. He slips it in Aichi's, getting a tight squeeze in response. 

Aichi relaxes half an inch. _"Sorry, Kai-kun. It doesn't hurt too bad but I'm... it's a little stressful, you know?"_

_"Yeah, I know." _He holds Aichi's hand throughout the process, all hour and a half of it, responding to Aichi's breathless half-English, half-Japanese ramblings about a new Earth-sized exoplanet that NASA was examining with soft smiles and _mm, I see _peppered in. It's all too technical for Kai, whose most advanced use of mathematics in his every day life is calculating shield values in Vanguard, but it distracts Aichi from the steady poking of the needles into his chest. When the artist is finished, he leans back, wipes the residual blood from the mark, and sets his tools on the tray. 

"It looks good," he says, propping the chair up. "Hold still one second longer and I'll wrap it up and send you on your way, okay?"

"Uh-huh..." Aichi is holding his shirt close to his chest again. 

"I'm going to spray some Bactine on it first, which will sting."

Kai remembers this part clearly.

"Uh-h...uh, some wh--" 

Aichi cuts off with a muffled yelp when the disinfectant makes contact with his raw skin. Kai's own tattoo, long since totally healed, itches in solidarity.

They pay and thank the artist, who hands Aichi a list of aftercare treatments to ensure the tattoo's quickest and least bothersome healing. As they prepare to leave, Aichi bites his lip.

_"Kai-kun," _he says hesitantly, _"can you help __me__... put on my shirt?"_

The shirt will rub against the plastic wrap-covered tattoo, but Kai doesn't want to have Aichi walking around the streets of New Haven in just his binder, either.

_"Here."_ Kai shrugs off his zip-up hoodie and wraps it around Aichi's shoulders, helping Aichi put his arms into the sleeves. It's loose enough on Aichi's smaller frame that it doesn't rub against his skin when Kai zips it up just enough to cover the stretchy fabric beneath; the sleeves are too long, and cover Aichi's hands. 

He is _incredibly_ cute, Kai thinks, warmth creeping up into his neck and ears.

The tattoo artist has retreated into his back room, Kai notices, and so does Aichi, who smiles up at Kai and wraps his arms around Kai's waist. This sudden affection does nothing to cool Kai's burning affection for Aichi; he is reminded once again of his years-long crush on him, one that had gotten stronger, not weaker, over time.

When Aichi pulls back, he catches a glimpse of Kai's own tattoo, peeking out from his v-neck shirt, and smiles as he touches it with the tip of a finger peeking out from under the too-long sleeve of Kai's hoodie. Then, in perfect English, "We match now, don't we Kai-kun?"

Kai nods, unable to trust himself to speak, and leads Aichi out the door.

"Thank you," Aichi adds, walking alongside Kai to the bus stop so they can head back to the faculty housing Aichi shares with his father. Kai is suddenly anxious that Aichi showing up at his dad's place with a body modification and a surly-looking non-American friend with a tattoo in the same place on his own chest is going to be a potentially uncomfortable situation, but he dismisses this thought at the sight of Aichi biting his lip and twirling his bangs between two fingers-- both sure signs of Aichi's own, much more acute anxiety.

"You were really brave," Kai finds himself saying when they finally reach the bus stop.

Aichi smiles shyly. "Y-you think so?"

"Mm." Kai smiles back and touches a finger to his chest, right above his heart. "This is a painful place to get a tattoo but you handled it well." He thinks about telling Aichi that he had rather enjoyed the feeling of pain getting his own tattoo done and that Gaillard had mocked him for it, but decides it's not a good time to admit to being into that sort of thing. "I'm proud of you."

"Oh..." Aichi rubs the back of his neck. "It's because you were there with me, you know..."

Kai disagrees, but can only bring himself to shake his head at the ground. Aichi has always been the braver of the two of them; always selfless, always willing to take on pain for the sake of others, always unashamed to be his true self. He's in the middle of formulating a sentence to best express this in words when Aichi takes a deep breath and clears his throat, face suddenly about as red as Kai's face feels. 

"Um, Kai-kun..." Aichi closes his eyes to steel himself. When he opens them again, it's with all the determination he holds when he's cardfighting. "Will you allow me to be brave one more time today?"

"Huh?"

Aichi pulls up the sleeve of Kai's hoodie and grasps Kai's hand, lacing their fingers together in a decidedly bold manner that has the both of them as red as the stop sign behind them.

"I liked holding your hand," he says in a rush, looking directly into Kai's face, and Kai couldn't look away if he'd wanted to. "Can I..."

Kai's head nods on its own (not that he could or would ever tell Aichi _no, you can't hold my hand _because this is what he had only dreamed of, this sensation of Aichi's warm, small hand inside Kai's, standing so close together that their shoulders touch). With each passing second, Aichi's hands, arms, shoulders, and finally entire body relax as he leans into Kai, pressing his face into the crook of Kai's neck. 

"This is a little bolder than I thought I would be today."

"I appreciate it." Kai certainly wouldn't have had the courage to do this himself. "I, I like..." _You. _"This."

Maybe the slight hesitation is enough for Aichi to pick up on, or maybe Aichi is just as confused by all the directions their relationship is taking today and figures he may as well, because the next thing Kai feels is Aichi's lips press against his cheek, and he stops breathing for a full ten seconds as Aichi, quite red-faced, returns to holding Kai's hand.

"Thanks again, Kai-kun," Aichi says as though he hadn't just kissed Kai's cheek, "for everything."

Kai nods mutely.

It takes everything in him not to lean down and return the favor, a temptation that lingers as they take the bus back to Yale and meet with Aichi's father (he is more reserved than Shizuka, and therefore harder to read, but he doesn't seem displeased by Aichi's tattoo) and go out to dinner for some mediocre American seafood. 

But maybe it's not really a lingering temptation from that afternoon, but one he's had for years... and maybe, _maybe_ tonight he can finally give in to it. 


End file.
